Journals: Pilgrimage to Viet Nam (4) FIN

The 5th and Final Day

On our final day, we left our hotel 30 minutes later than on previous days, so we were all in a very relaxed mood. Some of us even bought things from the peddlers who were surrounding our bus. They called out to us, ?10 items for only 1000 yen!" Some of us were still hesitant, so they made us an offer we could not refuse: “All right. You can have 15 items for 1000 yen!" They used Japanese to conduct their business. I wondered if they really earned as much money as they had expected to.

While we were driving though the city, we saw lots of people sitting on plastic chairs on the street and drinking coffee. Our guide explained to us that these street cafés were illegal, and that the proprietors and patrons would fold up their chairs and run away whenever the police showed up.

In Vietnam, it is quite common for people to have breakfast at outdoor cafés, and the plastic chairs in the street cafés we saw were light enough to be carried away at a moment's notice. Breakfast cost 10,000 dong, while French bread cost 5,000 dong. Lunch cost between 10,000 dong and 20,000 dong. The average monthly wage in Vietnam is 1,500,000 dong. (10,000 dong is roughly equivalent to 80 yen.) People who are lucky enough to work for a foreign company may earn 30,000~50,000 yen per month. Naturally, many people in Vietnam try to get jobs at good companies.

Since trucks were permitted to go downtown only during peak hours, there was a line of trucks queuing up, even though it was not yet rush hour. That meant that we would be stuck in a traffic jam on our way back. Meanwhile, on the bus, a lady named F. from the Vietnam A/S Fund, gave a short speech about the activities of her fund. Here is an extract:

“Since our fund started on July 1, 1997, we have been trying to support children in Vietnam in various ways. After visiting lots of places, we eventually found that the one thing children needed most was the opportunity to get an education. With a little financial support, these children would be able to get a primary school education, which would give them a more promising future. Donations from our many supporters come to 5 million yen a year, which we use for various projects, including building schools, training teachers, running a boarding school for kids from remote areas, providing students who live far away with a free breakfast, and digging wells. Also, we have an education loan system called the ‘cow bank,' for children from very poor families and children with disabilities: we rent them a cow until she bears a couple of calves. I always feel rewarded when I see children smiling. Some projects are organized under the supervision of the diocesan bishops. I hope you become more aware of the situation of children in this country, during your stay here."

We were deeply moved by Ms.F's enthusiasm. Even though she was unwell, she had come to Vietnam to work for the fund. She gave the children lessons in making things with beads, which they could then sell in the markets.

We arrived at Bui Chu Church, contacted the parish priest in advance of our visit, the priest was not there to greet us.

After the party, Ms.F. had to leave suddenly, along with H, a theology student, and K., who was from the HIV Children's Fund. We were told that they were going to do some research on the HIV situation in a particular area. We saw them off, and prayed for the success of their mission.

Later, it turned out that the parish priest had not been able to come along because he had been suddenly detained by the police, who were conducting one of their “investigations." I was afraid that he had been detained because of our visit.

On the way there, we dropped in at the convent of St. Francis, for a short rest. The sisters there kindly showed us around their house. They kept several dogs, who were allowed to roam freely, without leashes. The dogs were very friendly. The sisters had built an extension onto one of the buildings in the convent, so that local people could hold retreats there.

In the little chapel, there were statues on each side of the altar of Mary and Joseph, who were depicted with Vietnamese features. The stained glass windows in the chapel depicted a famous episode from the life of St. Francis. The convent garden was surrounded by a huge forest, which was well-tended, as the saint was a great lover of nature. To help make ends meet, the sisters made statues, crucifixes and wall hangings in the convent workshop.

After that, we continued on to Chi Hoa Church, which was our destination. Pointing to some motorbike riders on the way there, our guide told us, “In Vietnam, it is easy to tell if a woman is single or married. When she is single, she covers her face with a scarf and she covers her arms with long gloves, to avoid sunburn. After she gets married, she doesn't care any more."

I saw no-one on a motorbike wearing a helmet, even though according to new traffic regulations which had come into force in December, all riders had to wear helmets. Our guide explained that most helmets which were on the market were of very poor quality and didn't improve riders' safety at all. Some were imported from China.

Our guide also said, “A motorbike driver is only licensed to carry one adult, but in Vietnam, it is perfectly legal to carry as many additional children as you like, on a motorbike. You can often see a whole family riding on a motorbike. That's why people prefer 100 cc bikes to 50 cc bikes."

When we finally got near the church, we had to get out of the bus, because the bus was too large to travel along the narrow street. To get to the church, we had to get in a smaller vehicle and travel in small groups. There was a store outside the church, and we bought some pictures of saints for friends of ours at home, who had not been able to take part in our pilgrimage. Sales were so brisk that it seemed as if some of us were more eager to do some shopping than to pray at the church.

We went to a restaurant for the final dinner of our tour. The restaurant was run by religious. We had made a reservation, and we found a welcome flag.

Before our dinner, we held a brief meeting to reflect on the tour and share our thoughts and personal impressions. All of us commented on how happy we were to have this opportunity to take part in a pilgrimage to Vietnam.

Then some priests, sisters, novices, host families of novices, and members of the Vietnamese Children's Fund joined in our party. Altogether, there were about 80 people at the dinner. We enjoyed the singing and dancing of the sisters and novices, and we sang “Furusato, my home town" for them.

During our tour, we hadn't worried much about the weather, but on our last day, we learned that a typhoon was approaching Japan. We left the restaurant at 8 p.m., so that we could get the latest information at the airport. We took a truck-taxi. Everyone looked a little tired, but we all felt very satisfied, after the wonderful experience we'd had during the past few days. Our flight to Narita was canceled, so we took a flight to Osaka instead. Thankfully, we all got home safely, in spite of the typhoon.

I realized that our pilgrimage had been a fruitful one when I noticed a member of our group praying silently with a prayer book in her hand on board the plane, while most of us were still sound asleep.

The End

[by N.K.; A.T.; H.F; J.S]